1. Emotional Development

2. Emotions Emotions are not just “feelings” Components:
Desire to take action
Physiological changes
Subjective feelings
Cognitions

3. Why Emotions are so Important
Emotional Expressions
Communicative
Facilitates learning (e.g. social referencing)
Emotional Physiology
Motivational (makes us want to change our state or keep it the same (i.e. operant learning)
Strengthens memory for important events

4. Theories of Emotion Common Sense View James-Lange View
Stimuli  Emotion  Physiological Changes
James-Lange View
Stimuli  Physiological Changes  Emotion
Support: Pen in mouth studies
Interpretive View
Stimuli  Physiological Changes  Interpretation  Emotion
Support: adrenaline shot studies: known side-effects (no emotional change), near happy guy (happy) vs. near angry guy (angry)

5. Theories of Emotion Discrete Emotions Theory Functionalist Approach
Innate
each emotion has a corresponding and distinct set of bodily and facial reactions
Present very early in life
Functionalist Approach
Emphasize the role of environment and the functions emotions serve (e.g. anger-eliminate obstacle, disgust—reject item, fear—fight or flight)
Some evidence for both sides

6. Emotional Expression Positive Emotions Smile
First month = reflex response
By 3rd month = social smiles toward people
Laughing
By 3rd or 4th month = during play activities (e.g bouncing)
Negative Emotions
Newborns: Generalized Distress (facially an undifferentiated distress state? But different cries)
Anger and Sadness: 2nd month = visible facial expression matches situation
Fear and Distress:
6–7 months to 2 years = stranger anxiety
8 months to 15 months = separation anxiety
~7–12 months = fear of novel toys, noises, sudden movements, heights (e.g. visual cliff)

7. Emotional Expression in Infancy
Birth
interest, distress, disgust, contentment

8. Emotional Expression in Infancy
2-7 months
sadness, joy, surprise and anger

9. Self-Conscious Emotions
Embarrassment, pride, guilt, and shame (~ 2 years of age)
These emotions demonstrate self-awareness and consciousness of adult reactions
Children show no signs of self conscious emotions until after they pass the mirror self-recognition test (e.g. ~21 months).

10. Shame vs. Guilt (Self vs. Other focus)
Shame does not include concern for others
Guilt includes empathy for others
Parents can influence whether children are more likely to feel guilt over shame:
Parental focus on the “badness” of the behavior rather than the child
If parents help the child understand the consequences of the child’s behavior
Teach them the need to repair the damage they’ve done
Avoid publicly humiliating them and communicate respect

11. Discrimination (~3mths) vs. Recognition (~7mths)
Recognition—understanding some meaning
e.g. social referencing

12. Emotion Knowledge
Most 2-year-olds know words for the 6 universal basic emotions
Happiness: Santa will be happy if I pee in the potty
Sadness: You sad, Daddy?
Fear: Bees everywhere. Scared me!
Anger: Don’t be mad, Mommy!
Surprise: Daddy surprised me.
Disgust: Tastes yucky, Mom!
They also understand something about the links between events emotions and actions
e.g. “I give hug. Baby be happy.” “Grandma mad. I wrote on wall.”
They recognize that if someone felt a certain way there must be a reason for it:
e.g. “You sad, Mommy? What daddy do?”
And they realize that you can tell something about how people feel by how they look:
e.g. “Katie not happy face. Katie sad.”

13. Emotion Knowledge
18-month-olds understand that someone else’s desires don’t have to be consistent with their own AND
They can use person’s facial expressions to interpret emotions
E.g. Gross Cracker Study (video)
Similarly, 2-year-olds understand that it is not reality or the outcome per se that leads to an emotion but that the outcome must be consistent with someone’s desire.
e.g. boy looking for rabbit would be sad if he found his dog, whereas a boy looking for dog would be happy

14. Understanding Emotions
Causes
abilities to understand that memories of past events can causes emotions develops with age.
39% of 3-year-olds understood that memories might cause emotions… while all 5-year-olds did.

15. Understanding Emotions Real vs. False Feelings
“Michelle is sleeping over at cousin Johnny’s house but she forgot her teddy bear. She is feeling sad inside but she doesn’t want to show it because he will call her a baby”.
3-4 years olds were about 50% correct. 5 year olds were about 80% correct

16. Understanding Emotions
~10 years = mixed feelings; both positive and negative emotions can exist toward the same source or different source at the same time
The bottom-line is that the understanding of emotions continues to
develop throughout childhood.
Those that understand emotions better also tend to engage in more
prosocial behavior
Those with limited emotional knowledge (e.g. mislabel expressions)
tend to be angry, aggressive, and fearful.

17. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
abilities that are key to competent social functioning
Components:
Persistence when frustrated
Identify (and express) one’s own feelings
Identify other’s feelings (e.g. ability to read non-verbal cues)
Empathy (an emotional reaction to another’s emotional state)
Impulse control/Delay gratification
Regulate emotions
Understanding of display rules
Secure attachment

18. What’s involved in Delay Gratification?
Comparison of rewards
Inhibition
Strategizing to simplify inhibition (e.g. distraction, imagination)

19. Masking Guilt
Lewis and colleagues set up a situation where a child was left alone in a room and told not to peek at a toy in a box…. If they peeked, could they lie and hide their guilt afterwards?
“i’m going out don’t look in the box”

20. Emotional Display Rules
What is culturally and socially appropriate?
E.g., displaying happiness when you receive a gift, even if it is very disappointing.
children were better at generating positive behaviors in reaction to the disappointing gift as they got older.
girls were better than boys at all ages

21. Early EQ predicts later social functioning
EQ is a better predictor than IQ of how well people do in life (though the 2 are related)!
e.g. single best predictor: early delayed gratification performance? related to later social functioning, academic performance, relationship success, self-esteem, drug-use, criminal behavior etc etc. up to 20 years later

22. How Parents Socialize Their Children
Parents socialize their children’s emotional development through:
Their expression of emotion with their children and other people (e.g. Expression of positive related to social competence, low aggression, high self-esteem; Negative expressions related behavioral problems and social and learning difficulties). Correlational!!!
Their reactions to their children’s expression of emotion
Their discussions with their children about emotion and the regulation of emotion

23. Culture and Emotional Development
Cultural differences in parenting practices and values contribute to differences in emotional expression
(e.g. more empathy in Japanese children)
Sub-culture: parents’ ideas/values about the usefulness of particular emotions vary
(e.g. Mothers living in a dangerous neighborhoods more tolerant of aggression, especially in girls)

24. Emotional Expression/Frequency of Experiencing Emotions
In preschool and early school age increase in positive emotions and/or decrease in negative
Typical adolescence experience a mild increase in negative emotions and/or a decrease in positive
Minority (15-20%) experience a major increase (and clinical depression)
physiological changes + increase in stressful peer and family interactions
More common in females

25. Depression by Gender and Age
Thought questions:
Are gender differences in emotional dev. genuine?
Is it a difference in level of “feeling” emotional or expression?
What factors might be underlying this gender difference?

26. Individual Differences:
Biological Influences on Child’s Emotional Dev.
e.g. Temperament
Constitutionally based (i.e. biological) individual differences in emotion, motor, reactivity and self-regulation that demonstrate consistency across situations and over time

27. 3 Temperament Types:
Measure a child’s activity level, attention span, persistence, approach/withdrawal behavior, mood, etc.
Easy babies (40% of original study)
Difficult babies (10% of original study)
Slow-to-warm-up babies (15% of original study)
(The rest did not fit into a category)
Children who are negative, impulsive, and unregulated tend to have poor peer relations and get in trouble with the law. They are difficult partners and roommates.
Behaviorally inhibited children are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and phobias.

28. Historical Underpinnings
1930s and 1940s children raised in orphanages, or refugee camps during WWII or other institutions were, despite have their physical needs met…
Seemed to have no concern for others
Withdrawn, isolated
Others overactive and abusive
Physically and mentally retarded
Sick, depressed, and more likely to die (37%) than at institutions with daily contact with mothers (0%)

29. Historical Underpinnings...Harlow’s Monkeys
Raised infant monkeys in isolation from birth
When placed with other monkeys at 6 months they had severe disturbances
(biting and rocking themselves, avoiding other monkeys, unable to communicate or learn from others, females had no interest in sex, if impregnated they did not know what to do with their babies (ignore, reject, or kill them)
Weakness = total social isolation not just caregiver bond but…
Strongly supports the view that normal development and social emotional competence is rooted in early social interactions

30. Wire Mothers?

31. Wire Mother Results
the monkeys spent significantly more time with the cloth mother (15 hours) than the wire mesh mother (2 hours), regardless of who provided the milk
goes against behaviorism and psychoanalytic theories which treated ‘food’ as the only reinforcement important to children.
emphasized the need to emotional and psychological needs met in addition to physical needs, led to attachment research

32. Strange Situation Measure of Attachment Style

33. Patterns of Attachment
Secure (about 65%)
Infants actively seek proximity to caregivers upon reunion
Communicate their feelings of stress and distress openly and then readily return to play
Insecure-Avoidant (about 20%) (Group A)
Infants who do not seem distressed during separation and ignore caregiver upon return. (more angry and negative than other 2 groups)
Insecure-Ambivalent (about 15%) (Group C)
Infants who become extremely distressed when the caregiver departs but are ambivalent or resistent on her return. They run to her but then arch away or push her.
Disorganized/Disoriented (~5% of insecurely attached)
Changeable, confused behavior, exhibit fear toward mom but still approach

34. what determines attachment style?
the care-giving hypotheses
“Secure” parenting
Sensitivity (responding promptly, consistently, and appropriately)
Positive attitude, affectionate
Support/attentiveness
Stimulation
“Avoidant” parenting
Less of “secure” attributes
Aversion to bodily contact
Rejecting
More angry and yet less emotional expression overall
“Ambivalent” parenting
anxious
More evidence of difficult temperament

35. Long Term Effects? Securely Attached
age 2-6. Better problem solvers (persistent and enthusiastic), more complex creative play, more positive emotions, cooperative and sympathetic, more attractive playmates.
age Better social skills, better peer relations more likely to have more close friends
Higher self-esteem
Do better in school despite same level of IQ as insecure
Insecure
age 2-3. Socially and emotionally withdrawn, hesitant to initiate play behaviors with peers, less curious, less interested in learning.
age Poor peer relations, fewer close friendships, more likely to have psychopathological symptoms.
Avoidant = more likely to display ‘deviant’ behaviors (disruption/disobedience)
Ambivalent = easily frustrated, less competent

36. Nature and Nurture: Interactions
“Goodness of fit” = compatibility between temperament and social environment.
E.g. If parents are supportive and consistent with difficult children, negative behaviors may moderate. If parents are harsh and punitive, undesirable behaviors can worsen.
The influence is bi-directional! Child’s temperament in turn can influence parents’ reaction